Islamic Seminary Students Hold Anti-Saudi Protest in Tehran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A large group of Iranian Islamic seminary students staged a protest rally in Tehran on Saturday to voice their outrage over Riyadh’s move to carry out the death sentence handed to prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr on political grounds.
In the protest held in front of the Saudi Arabian embassy, the demonstrators condemned the ruling Al Saud dynasty for executing the Shiite leader.
They also chanted slogans against the Saudi regime, including “Death to Al Saud”.
Saudi Arabia executed 47 prisoners on Saturday, including Sheikh Nimr, the Arab country’s interior ministry said in a statement.
The cleric’s name was among a list of the 47 carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency. It cited the interior ministry for the information. Saudi state television also reported the executions.
Sheikh Nimr was detained in July 2012 on charges of delivering anti-regime speeches and defending political prisoners.
His arrest sparked widespread protests in the Arab country, leaving several people dead.
In 2014, a Saudi judge found him guilty of “sedition” and sentenced him to death.
In October 2015, a Saudi appeals court upheld the death sentence, referring his case to King Salman’s office.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, among many others, had called on Riyadh to halt the execution of Sheikh Nimr.
